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Brian Kelly still certain we’ll see new all-time highs for Bitcoin soon

CNBC Bitcoin analyst Brian Kelly thinks that institutional adoption of Bitcoin is finally here as retail anticipation continues to ramp up for the $140 billion market cap digital asset. He also noted that the planned daily supply cut (often referred to as ‘the halvening’) from 1,800 to 900 BTC in exactly 12 months’ time is key to a bullish continuation. Kelly stated that “you’re starting to get that long-waited-for institutional adoption” and that we’re currently experiencing “retail anticipation”, as TD Ameritrade will “start opening Bitcoin trading to their retail customers” over the coming months. The BKCM founder went on to say that “Fidelity is rolling out institutional custody, and they’re getting customers”. Upcoming halvening Kelly stated: “The big picture here

He said: “This next cycle, you’re talking probably a two-year cycle. In 2020, the supply of Bitcoin is going to get cut in half. The cycle for Bitcoin is usually about a year before to a year after. So over this two-year period, you will likely get this big upswing, particularly if the institutions come in, and I think we surpass all-time highs.”

Kelly points to Bitcoin wallet activity and institutional investors as two key indicators that show Bitcoin may have already hit its most recent low of $3,100 at the tail end of 2018.

“I think there’s a really good chance that the December lows we saw in the $3,000s are probably the low for this cycle. There are a couple of things that are going on,” he said.

Looking at the data

Kelly added: “You’ve seen improving fundamentals. You look at active addresses. That’s one of the big metrics I look at. That’s up 26% from the January lows. You look at transaction levels. Those are back to 2017 levels, so there’s a lot of network activity.”

The statistics do support the argument Kelly is trying to make. Other all-time highs have also been seen in the trading market recently, with nominal crypto trading volume (think the number of BTC or ETH traded each day and not just the USD value) currently at an all-time high with close to half a million BTC in open interest being traded on the go-to high-margin exchange BitMEX.

Kelly then turned to the institutional outlook for the decentralised asset class, saying: “You’re seeing people like Fidelity still rolling out their institutional platform. And then, as a proxy, look at the CME Bitcoin futures. The large open interest holders.

“These are big institutions that are at all-time highs. And it continues to grow. Last week they saw record volume on CME Bitcoin futures. So you’re starting to see institutional investors come in here with a good fundamental tailwind. And that’s got Bitcoin back in the saddle again.”